Top 100 products of March in terms of growth of demand

The issue of shift in demand during the global pandemic will not release its hold on us any time soon, so we decided to turn to the experience of our foreign colleagues and tell you the demand for specific products has changed over the past month. We took the research of the Top 100 Fastest Growing&Declining Categories in E-commerce, adapted it for our readers and here is the result.

Quarantine, self-isolation, the virus — all of this made significant adjustments to people’s daily lives, changing both consumer habits and the contents of the shopping cart. We took the liberty of categorizing the results of a study arranged by Stackline and adding a few recommendations of our own.

It concerns the products that demonstrated rapid growth last month. In order to eliminate the seasonal factor, the researchers compared March’19 to March’20 (and we fully endorse this approach). Despite the fact that the data segment covers Western users, it will be relevant for most of the countries as well, because 1) the primary shift concerned consumer goods (and we are all people and we need the same things), 2) Europe and the USA are currently at the peak of the outbreak, while some other countries (for example, CIS) has yet to face it, and a wave of demand will soon reach us. Therefore, use these data collations as action guidelines. And to make it easier for you, we have prepared a selection of active affiliate programs for each category.

If you could not find your favourite shop in the list you can always install browser extension Admitad Lite and search for the offers of the most popular shops in your region. More information about the extension in the article “Admitad Extension. Lite and PRO“.

Health

The health segment is not limited to masks, and disposable gloves are not the universal remedy. Putting aside the obvious products like sanitizers, soap, cough remedies, let us consider the remaining categories.

Firstly, there is always the spring bloom, and allergy remedies are still relevant (open windows + pollen = sneezing and red eyes).

Secondly, eating habits have changed: someone dove into cooking, someone started baking their own bread, someone is hitting the snacks hard, which results in poor digestion and need for medication.

Thirdly, it is easier to prevent than to treat the problem, hence the growing demand for vitamins and minerals.

Fourthly, sanitizers and soap make the skin significantly drier, so the demand for moisturizers and eczema / psoriasis treatment started increasing.

Fifthly, self-isolation and quarantine serve as a trigger to get rid of bad habits such as smoking, because you can’t go out for a pack of cigarettes whenever you like. Consequently, there is a growing demand for nicotine patches and similar solutions to the smoking problem.

Appliances (digital and household)

The biggest surprise was the skyrocketing demand for the bread makers, which even the producers of these appliances did not foresee. For some reason, many self-isolated buyers decided to entertain themselves by none other than cooking bread (and, naturally, we do not blame them for that).

Other categories are more obvious: health monitors, smart watches and fitness trackers help maintain physical activity throughout the day, the purpose of humidifiers and air purifiers is also clear.

An interesting insight is the growing demand for computer monitors, keyboards and computer mice, which is derived from the need to organize a home office for employees.

Food products

This category provides an extensive list, but this should come as no surprise: in order not to go out too often, consumers buy products for a long-term, and all those products can be arbitrarily divided into four categories:

Things that can be stored for a long time (cereals, pasta, instant meals, canned food, pre-cooked dishes)

Things that give pleasure (snacks, chips, cookies)

Things that encourage cooking discoveries (everything for baking, as well as all kinds of seasonings, sauces, spices)

Surprisingly, soups (ready-made and mixes for cooking) occupy the first place in terms of growth of demand. This experience can hardly be projected onto the CIS countries and eastern Europe countries. So if you are applying that to your work, it is better to choose products for the preparation of soups, rather than ready-made solutions. The rest of the list is quite consistent with the preferences of consumers around the world, so you can safely work with it.

Sports

In terms of sports there is not much one can do at home, especially if the people are seriously concerned about their physical condition. Therefore, dumbbells, kettle balls, bars, weights — things that help increase exertion — take the lead.

Next are the accessories: rugs, elastic bands, jump ropes, resistance bands, pilates balls and much more. For owners of private houses, ping-pong became a consolation: the demand for products related to this sport has grown by 89% compared to last year.

Household products

In this segment two categories of products can be distinguished:

To keep the house clean. First, spring is traditionally the time for thorough cleaning. Second, observing hygiene is a pressing necessity due to virus. Third, people generally spend more time at home, which means they produce more waste (hello, toilet paper and garbage bags).

To arrange a work area. The demand for keyboards, computer monitors and mice leads to the demand for desks and office chairs (because spending a full working day on unsuitable furniture is hardly a pleasure). From our point of view, we would add lighting to the same category, for example, desk lamps.

Beauty and treatment

Search queries on YouTube are a good indicator of demand: the videos “How to remove shellac” and “Hair dying at home” are gaining popularity. So until the end of the month our products are beauty care products. Hair dye, hair balsams, hair masks, manicure products, exfoliation products, masks and face creams, lotions, body wraps and massage brushes for the body… Beauty parlors will not open soon, but people always want to be beautiful, though makeup takes a backseat: induced naturalness and health are currently in fashion.

Pets supplies

First of all, the animals themselves are gaining popularity: more and more people are finally deciding to have pets. Secondly, “grabbing food for the cat on the way home from work” will no longer work — it is easier to order a monthly supply of feed and cat litter to be delivered to the house, and the owners will not have to worry about their furry and feathered friends.

Children’s products

No surprises here: baby cosmetics, baby wipes, baby powder, diapers, baby food, exercises developing fine motor skills… The demand has not really changed, except that it has switched from offline to online. For the time being we will see fewer queries for children’s clothing (especially interseasonal outdoor clothes: for one thing, nobody needs it to walk around the house, and second, it will already be too small by fall), but consumables (food, diapers, cosmetics) will be at the peak.

Arts and crafts supplies

Beauty and art will save the world, or at least they will save the free time of people cooped up indoors. Painting by numbers, mosaics, puzzles, crystal growing, pyrography, knitting, embroidery… Everything meditative enough to distract people from the bad news is trending this spring.